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Will NY lawmakers host hearing in Syracuse about proposed changes at Hutchings?

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A proposal from New York's Office of Mental Health would shift the children's unit at Hutchings Psychiatric Center in Syracuse to one in Utica. State lawmakers will hold a hearing today in Middletown to talk about other closures and changes in services in the public mental health system.
(Peter Chen/The Post-Standard )

Syracuse, N.Y. -- State lawmakers will hold another hearing today, this one in Middletown, about proposed changes to New York's mental health centers.

A similar hearing Tuesday in Ogdensburg lasted all day and drew more than 40 speakers against plans to close the St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center.

That prompted us to wonder: Are lawmakers planning a public hearing for Syracuse, where the plan from the state's Office of Mental Health calls for shifting pediatric in-patient care at Hutchings Psychiatric Center to Utica?

But Gunther said she'd be happy to host a forum in Syracuse if the demand is there. "I'd be glad to," she said this morning. "I'm listening to parents and practitioners and people in government. It's really eye-opening."

The plan, announced in July, would reconfigure the state's mental health system. The state plans to consolidate 24 inpatient hospitals into 15 regional centers and establish more than two dozen outpatient service hubs.

As part of the plan, Hutchings' inpatient adult unit will grow to 185 beds, up from its current capacity of 105 beds. The children's unit at Hutchings - the only inpatient children's psychiatric unit in the area -- would close and patients would receive services at the Mohawk Valley Psychiatric Center in Utica.

State officials have said the changes will not require layoffs and should save $20 million in the first year.